Word: netanyahu
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Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein spared Netanyahu and Hanegbi but said his office had made no decision on Lieberman and was considering an indictment against Deri for extortion, obstruction of justice and fraud. Why Netanyahu got off the legal hook may be partly explained by chief prober Sando Mazor. He conceded in a covering letter that much of the evidence against Netanyahu came from just one "central witness," who, Israeli press reports say, is Dan Avi-Yitzhak. He was a strong candidate for Attorney General and also happened to be Deri's trial lawyer until Deri forced the Bar-On choice...
Israel's legal system presumes innocence, but in politics there's no such protection. If Netanyahu had become the first Prime Minister ever to be indicted, he would probably have been driven from office, even though the law does not require that he resign. The Knesset could impeach him with 80 votes of the 120 members or could force new elections for parliament and the post of Prime Minister with a simple majority...
Even without legal charges, Netanyahu must wage a fight for survival in the court of public opinion. As he always does when on the defensive, he counterattacked ferociously. While his closest aides floated accusations of police plots, leaks and a political vendetta to reverse the will of the electorate, Netanyahu appeared before the party faithful at Likud headquarters in Tel Aviv. "This government is not going anywhere," he roared. "We are staying in the place where the people and history...
...Prime Minister can hardly be certain of that. For starters, individuals--and the opposition Labor Party--have the right to petition the Supreme Court to order a reconsideration of charges against Netanyahu. Smelling blood, Labor politicians are hammering hard on the government's obvious ethical lapses. "He has lost the moral ground to govern Israel," argues aspiring Labor leader Yossi Beilin. "We are now trying to topple the government." Huddling in their party sanctum, Labor bosses have decided to crank up the pressure with pickets and street demonstrations. Shimon Peres, who was hoping to resume national leadership by joining...
...Netanyahu's problems are potentially graver within his own ruling coalition. Even some Likud leaders were visibly cool about supporting Netanyahu in the days immediately following the police report. "He is getting very little backing from his own party," says Gadi Wolfsfeld of Hebrew University, "because he hurt so many people...